Rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

is provided by one state-owned operator and several private ones, mainly for sugar mills. There are no connections with the neighbouring Haiti.

History

Railroads in the Dominican Republic were planned early as 1877 when the Dominican Government granted a concession for construction of an

electric tramway A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

between

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

to Puerto Plata never constructed. The first line (''Ferrocarril Samaná-Santiago'', with 1067 mm gauge), connecting Sanchez to La Vega with 79 kilometers long, started in 1881 and was opened on August 16, 1887. A branch of additional 13 kilometers long from La Gina to

San Francisco de Macorís San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic located in the northeast portion of the island, in the Cibao region. It is the capital of the Duarte Province, and the sixth most populated city in the country. The name ''San Fran ...

was opened in 1893. With a later 46 kilometers extension from Cabilla to Moca this railroad was enlarged to a network of 139 kilometers. The second line (''Ferrocarril Central Dominicano'', with 760 mm gauge), connecting Puerto Plata to

with 82 kilometers long, started its construction in 1891 and was opened by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Lilís on August 16, 1897. Later an 27 kilometers extension for the ''Ferrocarril Central Dominicano'' (Dominican Central Railway) was started in 1906 between

and Moca, being opened on October 24, 1909. This railway was fully owned and operated by the Dominican Government since 1908. A northward branch for the ''Ferrocarril Samaná-Santiago'' (Samaná to Santiago Railway) connecting its main line from Cabuya to Salcedo was opened in 1909 and an extension between Salcedo and Moca was started in 1913, finally connecting the Samaná to Santiago Railway with the Dominican Central Railway in Moca on February 27, 1918. There are plans for connecting Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata through Santiago de los Caballeros, but never materialized. The Dominican Government bought in 1939 the Sánchez-La Vega main line and Cabuya-Moca branch of the Scottish-private owned ''Ferrocarril Samaná-Santiago'' and in 1944 took the remaining La Gina-San Francisco de Macorís branch. Now in full possession of both ''Ferrocarril Samaná-Santiago'' and ''Ferrocarril Central Dominicano'' railway networks, in 1946 the Dominican State unificated both northern railways to made the state-owned United Dominican Railways (''Ferrocarriles Unidos Dominicanos'') 248 kilometers-long system. This system lacked of operational autonomy to use its revenues for maintenance and as results, the Puerto Plata-Santiago-Moca railway line was closed in 1951 and dismantled between 1955 and 1957, and the remaining network of Moca-Salcedo-Cabilla, La Gina-San Francisco de Macorís, and La Vega-Cabilla-La Gina-Sanchez lines were closed on February 3, 1976.

System

National railways

The network consists of several lines, for freight and passenger transport, using several gauges. Due to the closure of some of them, during the 20th Century, the network has been partly reduced to a series of scattered branches, mainly concentrated around the cities of

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic and the capital of the San Pedro de Macorís province in the east region of the country; it is among the 10 largest cities of the Dominican Republic. The ...

and La Romana. The list below shows an overview about the original network: * Central Romana Railroad was established in 1911 in the sugarcane fields. The total length of the line is , being the standard gauge. * The Dominican Republic Government Railway ( United Dominican Railways or ''Ferrocarriles Unidos Dominicanos'') was a narrow gauge railway. Now defunct. 150px, Narrow Gauge Sugar Cane railway in San Pedro de Macorís * There are operated by other sugarcane companies in various gauges: , , gauges (1995).

Urban railways

The first

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

system opened in the state, inaugurated at the end of 2008, is a metro network serving the capital

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. It consists of two lines for a total length of 27.4 km, with planned expansion. A light rail system has been planned for

Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago de los Caballeros (; '' en, Saint James of the Knights''), often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population. It is the capital of Santiago Prov ...

, the second Dominican city.Santiago Light Rail at subways.net
/ref>

References

External links